Charles W. "Skip" Bowen was the tenth Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG). He assumed the position from MCPOCG Frank A. Welch on June 14, 2006, and was relieved on May 21, 2010, by Michael P. Leavitt. Bowen was previously assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of Coast Guard Station Marathon. Education Coast Guard Career After attending basic training at Coast Guard Station Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey in 1978, his first duty station was to a patrol boat, in Clearwater, Florida. From there he was assigned to Coast Guard Station Marathon in the Florida Keys just in time for the Mariel boatlift in 1980. A subsequent assignment at Station Fort Pierce, Florida, was followed by another patrol boat, this time the newly commissioned , homeported in Miami. From south Florida, he travelled to the Mid-Atlantic seaboard to join as the Executive Petty Officer. Upon advancing to Chief Petty Officer he was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of Coast Guard Station New Haven, in June 1990. Following a successful tour at New Haven, he was transferred to Station Sand Key in Clearwater Beach, Florida in 1994. In 1997, Bowen was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of the in Newport, Rhode Island, until her decommissioning in April 1998. During May 1998 he was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of , based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; this cutter was the first of the high-tech 87-foot (26.5 m) patrol boats on the east coast. From 1999 to 2001, Bowen served as the Seventh District Command Master Chief. In May 2002, Bowen graduated with distinction from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy. While at the Academy, he was selected as one of the few non-Army students to serve as a class vice president. Upon graduation, he was awarded the prestigious "William G. Bainbridge Chair of Ethics Award." From June 2002 to June 2004, Bowen served as the Command Master Chief of the Headquarters Units. In addition to those duties, he served as the Interim Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard from July 2002 through October 2002. Awards and decorations Advanced Boat Force Operations Insignia Cutterman Insignia Officer-in-Charge Afloat Pin Officer-in-Charge Ashore Pin Commandant Staff Badge Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard 8 Service stripes. Personal Bowen's educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science Degree magna cum laude from Excelsior University and a Master of Business Administration summa cum laude